There Will Be Shadow
by Justice Ike
Summary: When fighters go missing on the streets, two people must set aside their differences while fighting for their lives to investigate why. Not easy when you are working with one they call a traitor; one you'd normally kill. Rated M for violence and swearing.
1. Prologue: Blood and Shadows

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Although to do with Brawl, it is more based on the darker, live action parody of Brawl, "There Will Be Brawl." Hence, the title of the fanfic, partially. If you've not watched it, I urge you to do so, either before or after reading this. Remember, reviews loved!**

**

* * *

**

**Prologue: Blood and Shadows**

_I used to be somebody, you know. A true fighter, you understand. Now, I am a nobody. Traitor, they jeer at me from the dark; too soft I've gone, say the others. I've lost so much, yet gained little in return...my legs, my arm, my eye. They even destroyed my fucking levitation platform, goddamn it! I spent months creating that thing so I still had a shred of my old life. They even took __**that**__ away from me. I truly am nothing; nothing but an old broken veteran who can't fight anymore._

_I eventually, and rather painstakingly, crafted myself a new set of legs. But what use is walking on my creations when there's shit all to walk for in this dump? All the others do is jeer and jest now. I'm just a soft worthless traitor scumbag to them. A shadow in the darkest depths of night. Maybe I was better off an immobilised pile of crap in a cardboard box. That way, they'd have to find __**me**__, and I'd be ready and waiting with the __**Executioner **__in tow._

_You know, I was starting to view my life that way, I really was. Maybe my life would be better. After all, the past was just a faded memory now; glory a mere product of intoxication. And pride...none of us fighters ever had pride. Pride was for foolhardy motherfuckers._

_Bah. No use reminiscing about the past anymore. That life is gone, lost in the wastes of this city state with its spineless government. The old days are over; the dark days of new are about to unfold, and this city shall burn. Damned to hell, that I should see this day! There is no-one left to fight – no more fighters. Well...save me...but I cannot fight. Our state...is doomed. That is my view._

_Then...then I saw __**her**__..._

_A scream. That's all it started with. One simple scream that was about to change my life forever...

* * *

_

_I'd been running. I know not how long for, but it seemed to be for hours; yet in reality, probably only mere heartbeats. I was pretty certain that, despite my speed, I had not lost the assholes on my tail just yet. Good job I had a lot of stamina, as well as energy to burn. Surely, I'd lose those idiots sooner or later..._

_But I didn't. That was probably the worst part. Perhaps these bastards had inhuman endurance, much like myself. Skidding to a halt, I whipped out my trusty pistol from its holster on my right thigh. I was hoping it wouldn't come down to this, but seeing as it has, I was going to give them a pasting good and proper. I would show these amateurs that, suit or no suit, I wasn't going down easily. Hell, they'd have to drag me to the underworld kicking and screaming if they wanted to get __**me **__down there. Spinning, I surrounded myself with a whip made of pure plasma, smiling in a "bring it on" kind of way. Yes, this was going to be __**very **__entertaining._

"_You're mine." I taunted softly to my aggressors, who were fast closing in on me in the darkness. I was very much looking forward to dealing with these jerks once and for all._

_A human figure, with torn clothes and a generally messy look, leapt at me headfirst, his knuckle-duster adorned fists poised for my face. Extending the Plasma Whip from my __**Paralyzer**__, I lashed out at the human's wrist, catching him off-guard, before effortlessly throwing him aside. Then, before I knew it, I was surrounded by more figures. With a crack, I plasma whipped the pavement, to show them I was serious and I was only going to give them one warning to back off. Unfortunately, none of them took it. In my mind, I was sighing; etched on my features though, was a determined look. These guys were going to wish they had never set eyes on me. I would personally make sure of that._

_I did fine at first, easily despatching the first few of them who dove at me. After that though, the fight began to change, and the first I knew about it was when I felt something slash across my back, which was followed by a sharp pain just under my left collar bone. Before I could comprehend what had been done to me, I was on the floor, breathless. I clutched at my shoulder; to my horror, my once blue hand was now red with blood. __**My **__blood. It wasn't long before a kick to my stomach sent me flying onto my back. I lay sprawled out; defenceless, staring at the bloodshot eyes of the first man I had thrown so effortlessly aside._

"_Actually, you'll find that you're __**mine**__, lady." The foul breath of the street brawler poured a crude version of the taunt I had greeted __**him **__with over my face, choking me. My sapphire eyes widened in fear as I saw him raise an object high into the air. Just before he bought it back down, I caught the soft glint of a sharp blade in the fading moonlight. I was finished._

_Uncharacteristically, compelled by female instinct, I screamed as loud as I could, before I felt a hard blow to the head and I began to black out. Just before I faded completely from the conscious world, I heard a new, strong voice from somewhere, but I couldn't decipher the words it was saying._

'_Must...hold...on..!' _

_That was my last coherent thought before I finally lost my grip on the world around me; my mind stolen away by the black hand that was unconsciousness._


	2. Traitor's Oaths

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Two chapters in a day! Aren't I nice ^.^**

**

* * *

**

**Traitor's Oaths**

A silhouetted figure sat in an alleyway, its head bent low, eating what appeared to be the last remaining morsels of a meal which had more than likely been stolen from somewhere or someone. Perhaps surprisingly, the dark streets were pretty much devoid of life. The only thing the figure had seen was another homeless guy and _his _own reflection in the puddle in front of him. While eating, he couldn't help but keep staring at his reflection. A scarred, almost grey skinned face stared back at him, also eating, before turning its back to _him_ as he turned away from _it_.

Just as he finished off the last crumbs of a piece of bread, a high pitched scream assaulted the silhouette's ears and reverberated off the walls of the pitch black alleyway. The ice blue glow of a cybernetic eye darted momentarily in the shadows, before its owner awkwardly rose onto his similarly artificial feet, surveying the area and listening for danger.

As quickly as the scream had arisen, it died back down, only to be replaced by shouting. And..._laughter?_ A bemused expression had now formed on the figure's grey face as he tried to concentrate, his left hand thoughtfully stroking his ginger beard. A deep frown soon crossed his face when he realised the laughter was not at all pleasant, but rather that of jeering and jesting.

Baring a set of wolfish canines, the figure dashed off towards where he had heard the scream and the laughing, and it took him only a few minutes to discover the source of all the commotion: a pack of street brawlers, picking on a blue clad fighter who lay defenceless on the ground, with another, more battle scarred brawler standing above said fighter, waving a knife about in his hand. There was blood everywhere, and it didn't take long for the newcomer to realise – much to his horror – that most of it had come from the grounded fighter. Thinking quickly, he picked up a stone and hurled it at the brawler with the knife before he could bring it to bear once more on the other fighter. Hitting his target bang on the forehead, the newcomer watched half-amusedly as the hardened brawler staggered back stupidly, clutching his head and shouting all the profanities under the sun.

"You bastard traitor, you! Curse and damn your sorry ass to burn in Hell when I'm through done with you, scum!" The brawler pointed a stubby, grime ridden finger at his aggressor. "Y'all be mighty sorry that yo' ever got involved with the Brawler-Alley Boys! Get him!" The last part wasn't directed at him, the newcomer knew, but took heed of it nonetheless as no less than ten muscled and battle scarred men charged at him.

"We'll see about that one." The newcomer grunted, disappearing into the shadows, before striking out with a swift left handed uppercut from hiding, knocking three of the men out cold. He took two more out with swift kicks of his metal feet, and pummelled another with a direct left handed punch to the head, before head butting him into the last of the men, knocking them all out. His attention once more turned to the leader of the Brawler-Alley Boys when he heard a groan from the direction he had last seen him. Once more, the brawler was poised to strike the downed fighter.

"Bah! Good riddance to you! You're next after I've shanked this one, traitor bastard!" The leader of the brawlers spat.

"Step away from them." The newcomer warned him, his tone dark.

"Whatcha gonna do? Everyone 'round 'ere knows you're weak an' pathetic."

"What do you call me beating all your men down then?"

"That ain't nothing! Not true proper fighting!" The lead brawler growled.

"Step away, or you'll regret it. I'm not warning you again, I swear."

"Go rot in Hell, son of a bitch! I'd sooner rather die than move...-"

_**BANG!**_

The ear-splitting report sounded throughout the streets for all to hear; to take heed of the cold message it bought with it. The lead brawler stood paralysed, a horrified stare on his face and a bullet hole between his eyes, before he slowly fell back onto the ground beside the other, now unconscious, fighter. A short distance away, the cloaked, grey faced newcomer stood triumphantly, teeth bared and a smoking sawn-off in his left hand.

"That...can be arranged." He snorted, spinning his weapon, and placing it in a holster on his thigh. "Know this. When I swear an oath, nothing will stop me fulfilling it, not even death!"

With that declaration, he turned on the ball of his mechanical foot and prepared to walk off. Before he even took a step, he remembered the fallen fighter.

_They need my help...but is this something I really want to get involved in? _The man turned back around, staring at where the fighter lay, scanning for any life signs with his cybernetic left eye. The scan showed the fighter was alive, but extremely weak. _They are wounded, and judging from the amount of blood, it looks serious. If I don't help them, they'll die. _It was decided then. He ambled over to the fighter, crouched down beside them and shook them lightly.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" He asked in a rough voice, but it was in vain. There was no response. He shook again, a little harder. "Hello? Can you tell me your name? What...-" His final sentence was cut short when he shook a little too hard and the fighter rolled into their back.

Complete and utter horror ran rampant through him. It wasn't the scores of wounds the fighter had suffered, nor the blade stuck just under their collar bone with blood pooling around it. No. What appalled this veteran of the streets the most was the fact this fighter – this **victim **– was a _woman. _A young, pretty, blonde haired woman. As he comprehended this, he was physically sickened. All of a sudden, killing that shitbag of a brawler didn't seem as sinful anymore.

Picking her up almost bridal style with one arm, he strode off towards his patch of alleyway. Near there, he knew of a place with stuff that could help out this poor, vulnerable woman. She needed it, right now; otherwise his intervention would have been for nothing. Sighing, the man kicked open a door to a derelict building and swiftly entered. She wasn't going to die like this.

_No more need die today..._

He wasn't going to let her die. _That _was an **oath**.


	3. Shadowed Souls

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Yes. More. Of course :D**

**

* * *

**

**Shadowed Souls**

_I don't remember what happened after the blow to my head, except the voice I heard just as I faded from reality. When I came to, I was in an unfamiliar, murky place which stank of disposed waste with the faint trace of sewerage mixed in. It was overpowering and was forcing me to gag, but thankfully, I didn't vomit everywhere, which was just as well, as I was feeling pathetically weak, weaker than I thought possible._

_It was at this point – leastways, I __**think**__ it was at this point – that my numbed brain registered the fact I was no longer grounded in the middle of a street. I was, in fact, propped up against something hard; I didn't know what, and as I tried to shift to find out, an agonising pain tore through my collar bone and burned through my chest. The pain was so intense my vision became blotched with green and red stars, and I was in real danger of blacking out again. I let out tortured grunt which sounded like the cry of a wounded animal before slowly sinking down slightly into a position that was minutely more bearable, and waited for my eyes to sort their miserable life out._

_Waiting's frustrating. I've never been good at it; now was certainly no exception. Right this moment, however, I had no choice __**but **__to wait..._

_Still doesn't ease my frustration, though._

_Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, my formally next to useless vision had cleared enough for me to be able to ascertain that I was indeed in a building of some kind, just as I suspected when I felt the hard surface behind me. I couldn't see much else around me, being far too pitch-black for my eyes, which both disappointed and filled me with fear when it suddenly occurred to me how vulnerable I was. I could still feel the hard shape of my __**Paralyzer **__digging into my thigh, but with the top half of my body practically out of action, there was no way I was going to be able to reach it. Anyway, even if I __**could**__ reach it, there wasn't much I would be doing with it. It was pretty much non-lethal. It couldn't kill anyone..._

_A glowing blue light in the shadows soon distracted me from my thoughts. My eyes narrowed, focusing on the lig-... no, not light. It was an __**eye**__! Instantly, memories of the glowing eyes of my arch nemesis sprung to mind, and I flinched back with a whimper, screwing my eyes shut as I tried to shake any thoughts of __**him **__from my mind. I didn't succeed at all, and much more to my dismay, I was aware of what I presumed was the eye's owner stalking closer towards me. I let out another pathetic whimper, unable to do much else as I resigned myself to my fate. The footfalls stopped, and the surprisingly gentle caress of a hand on my uninjured shoulder made my entire body freeze._

_There was a long, agonising moment of complete silence where neither I nor the one who had touched me moved. I wanted to tell them to leave me alone and push them away, but my body refused to move in accordance to my screaming mind, and courage failed me when my scream came to my lips. I heard my companion's breath hitch slightly from its regular, calming rhythm, before the deep, soft whisper of a masculine voice sounded mere inches from my face, pretty much reading my ascared mind._

"_They've gone now."_

_The simple, gentle reassurance of that voice, the familiarity of it...Both served to completely banish my fear. That voice...__**his**__ voice...where did I know it from? Slowly, I reopened my sapphire eyes, and was met with the curious stare of a pair of similarly coloured orbs, one natural, the other mechanical. I blinked in shock at the man before me._

_I was staring at the face of the __**traitor**__.

* * *

_

Saviour and saved both stared deeply into one another's eyes for a few heartbeats, as if trying to gauge each other's thoughts. Silence had resumed between them briefly, until _he _spoke again:

"Well, well, _Aran_." His tone was almost, but not quite, mocking, and still retained the same gentleness as when he first spoke to the woman he had saved. His plaited, ginger beard undulated like a tongue of flame whenever he spoke, occasionally flicking into his companion's face.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" She asked weakly, "I mean, that is what you _did_, isn't it?"

Surprisingly, her saviour laughed. "Hah! Is that the latest street rumour now? Psh! Those motherfucking morons will make up any story to call me traitor, won't they? But they don't have a hell damned clue! And it seems you don't much either, Samus."

Samus's stare changed; initially to a reproachful look at her saviour for insulting her intelligence, before settling on a rather sympathetic gaze – well, as sympathetic as her fatigued facial muscles would allow, anyway. It was true. Not one of _them,_ fighters or common street brawlers, knew anything about the one they found much enjoyment in calling 'Traitor', aside from rumours and hearsay. _They _all seemed to forget that this man had a name like everyone else, and had once had a life. _If anyone is a traitor here,_ Samus realised in the depths of her mind and soul, _then it is us for being so cruel to a man who has caused us no offence. We have judged him before we even know him, chucked him aside like a worthless hunk of rotting meat. Worse still, I joined in this madness and did nothing to stop it._

"No. You are right. None of us do." The Bounty Hunter spoke so softly, it was barely audible. There was a pause before she added in an even gentler voice, almost an afterthought, "_Kaiel._"

Her saviour was taken aback by the name she had supplied. Yet, somewhere within his startled gaze, Samus could sense and feel a deep feeling of appreciation, even if he didn't outwardly show it to her. _I wonder how long it has been since he last heard his own name...All these lonely years, such a pitiful existence. The poor man... _Samus couldn't help but think to herself as Kaiel rose up and walked away from her, not even replying. With visible effort, she tried to rise after him, but her wounded left shoulder would not allow her to rise. As she slumped down again, she was surprised to find that he had gone again.

Samus let out a hollow sigh, gently banging her head on the wall behind her, before frowning at her bandaged wound that had been so carefully attended to. From nowhere, she began to worry about Kaiel just a little. The look she had been given by him before he left. The fact that he didn't even reply to her before he left. She had gotten to him, she could tell, but she didn't know just how deep...

At least...not for a long time, anyway.


	4. Fateful Word

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Yes, it is short, but a highly necessary and important chapter nonetheless. The next chapter is longer. Expect a lot of monologue and dual monologue chapters like this and the first chapter. ^.^**

**

* * *

**

**Fateful Word**

_A word I had not heard in a long time. The stranger, the woman I saved...Samus Aran, intergalactic Bounty Hunter and a fighter...__**she **__was the first person to say a word to me I had not heard in...well, forever. Years and years and years. A decade or so, perhaps._

_**My name.**_

_It sounded strange coming from her mouth. Even stranger when it hit my ears, almost like an ancient, long forgotten language that I could barely understand. I've been so used to being called a traitor and every curse under the sun that I've forgotten what my own name sounds like. Forgotten who I am. Forgotten who I was._

_Yet...she pronounced it so beautifully, so soft, like the song of a bird. Like it was ingrained in her own tongue, the tongue of the Chozo people...It had caught me so unawares, I didn't know what to say to her. Indeed, I think my speech failed me completely. Samus's one word had stolen my many and hurled them from existence. I didn't want to walk away from her, believe you me, but I just couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes again. I simply had to compose myself at that moment, and am I ever glad I did. _

_But...every time I think back, I can't help but feeling that it was that one word that started it all._

_That one word had sealed our fate forever._


	5. Beacon in the Dark

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Ok, so still short, but longer than the last one.**

**

* * *

**

**Beacon in the Dark**

Kaiel hadn't walked far away inside the derelict building both him and Samus were hidden in; just far enough away in the dark so she couldn't see him, but he could still see her, via her life-force, with his cybernetic eye when he turned back around. Absentmindedly, he fiddled around with his long black jacket and dark tattered cape, both of which covered his legs and arms, before re-plaiting a strand of short ginger hair which had come loose from his beard. While he did this, he kept an eye on Samus, who still lay by the wall he left her by. Unbidden, thoughts about what she had said to him swirled in his head.

She had said his _name_. She was a fighter, yet she wasn't like the others. _There was an undertone in the way she spoke to me, like she felt pity for me..._ Before Kaiel could chase up on his elusive thoughts, he was interrupted by a groan from Samus. Sighing, he made his way back to her, crouching by her side.

"What's wrong?" he asked her in a slightly concerned tone.

"I need to move. Sitting here is killing my legs, but I can't stand because of this bastard wound!" Samus hissed angrily, frustrated at having been reduced to her current state.

"Here, let me help you up." Kaiel offered his left hand.

Grudgingly, she grasped it with her right, allowing him to haul her to her feet, before she stretched out her cramped, Zero Suit clad legs. Her joints cracked satisfyingly.

"Man, when I'm better, I'm gonna get the guy that did this to me." She muttered, still a little angry from before. "I'll beat him so hard he'll wish he never messed with me."

"That won't be necessary." He replied in a low tone.

"Why ever not? You saw what he did to me, didn't you? A man like that deserves punishing!"

"Because he's dead already; the one who attacked you...stabbed you violently in the chest. I shot him, killed him outright. He's six feet under." Kaiel nodded coldly, turning away with a flick of his cape.

Samus swayed, feeling physically sick all of a sudden. She could feel her legs turning to jelly. "S-stabbed me..." She staggered, wobbling all over the place. From the corner of his eye, Kaiel saw her predicament and rushed over to steady her.

"Steady!" He gripped her tightly, guiding her carefully down to floor. "I won't be long."

With that, Kaiel rushed off back towards the shadows, and quickly came back with some food and something that looked as if it could be a blanket. He wrapped the latter around Samus first before handing her the food, a bar of chocolate to be precise.

"Go on, eat up. I know it's not much, but it's my last one and I want you to have it. You need it more than I do." He smiled slightly.

"T-thanks." She answered, still a little shaky. After taking a bite out of the chocolate bar, she felt much better, so much so, she was just strong enough to pull Kaiel to the ground next to her by his left arm. "You know, you aren't half bad for someone who's allegedly supposed to be a traitor."

Kaiel made to open his mouth to reply, but he quickly shut it again when it suddenly clicked what Samus had just told him about being a traitor. She had used the word _allegedly._ His smile broadened, but not enough so that, if Samus was paying attention, she would notice. Maybe his life wasn't so bleak after all. Maybe she was his beacon; the way out of the nightmarish abyss he had been trapped inside for so long. He left the thought hanging when he noticed Samus had finished up her chocolate and had now fallen asleep. _No wonder why it had become quiet all of a sudden. _He began to rise in silence, so not as to disturb the exhausted Bounty Hunter.

"Night, night." He whispered softly, pulling away. To his surprise, he found himself unable to move, and something was gripping tightly on his wrist, pulling him back down. Kaiel spied Samus staring at him through lidded eyes.

"Stay." She pleaded in a tired, timid voice. "Please."

Despite only just having met the famed Hunter, Kaiel found he just couldn't ignore her plea. He couldn't place it. He just felt a strange protectiveness over her. It was bizarre and unexplainable.

_Maybe...is this what __**he **__meant? __Can she truly help me? _His mind pondered many thoughts before he finally fell asleep. For the first time ever, his past did not come to haunt him.


	6. Mission of the Huntress

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Decided to upload this even though I've not finished the chapter after, yet. Figured not to keep you all waiting too long ^.^**

**

* * *

**

**Mission of the Huntress**

"I need to find them!"

The declaration shot through Kaiel for the goodness-knows-how-many-th time. Every eternally dark morning, he'd be awoken by the same ranting mumble from Samus; today was no different. Well, apart from the fact that _this _time, he decided to ask her what the heck she was going on about.

"Samus, you always wake up and mutter that every single morning," he let out in a grumbling hiss, irritated over his lack of sleep, "and I never know what you mean. Surely you weren't looking for the fight I first saw you in? Or _were _you looking for a fight, She Who Supplants?" *****

"Of course I wasn't!" Her laugh softened her offence at what Kaiel was implying, and she was completely oblivious to the nickname that had been supplied to her. She remembered he had once told her that he referred to his enemies, his _tormentors_, as _'they'._ "Anyway, I don't mean the _others_." Samus pushed herself off the ground awkwardly, wincing because her chest and arm still hurt from being stabbed a week prior. "Do you like short stories, Kaiel?"

"As long as they _are _short." He nodded up at her from his sitting position, watching her pace slowly back and forth.

If he had only known just how long Samus's definition of short was, then maybe he might not have fallen into such a classic trap.

* * *

_I wish not to be in the realm of reality right now, but every time I escape, I am left wondering if the realm of illusion is worse than the one I came from. Wondering if my nightmares are worse than the one I'm currently living. We were all mostly friends, us fighters – or smashers, whatever floats your boat. It __**started**__ with us. Some fighters began to go missing. I forget who the first was. Maybe Marth. Or Ike. Perhaps even Meta Knight. I don't know. It's not important anymore. What's critically important was that the numbers of fighters in this now wretched city was slowly dwindling. __**They **__say Kaiel caused it. Looking at him, I could never believe that for a second. It was clear, however, that there was some sort of power play at work; I knew not what, or even who, but I was going to make it my job to find out what was going on. Even if it killed me._

_And that's how it started. All of this; this running, this fighting, this...well, everything. All of it. My only regret is not having my Power Suit, but that's been disabled ever since my friendly Brawl with Pikachu and Link, who managed cripple it so badly between them, I had to dematerialise it from my body so it could be allowed to regenerate itself properly. If I had known that they'd go missing a week later, maybe I would not have fought them that day and would have instead had a friendly catch up. But that's the thing about time: you can't change the damned past. Time is a bitch like that._

_So, I've been running around, armour-less, investigating, prying...trying to find out all I can. As I've roamed the streets, the city has gotten worse: first, the perpetual darkness of eternal night descended upon us all, and then the gangs took over. This city has become practically lawless – the only law seems to be "killed, or be killed." That's what you have to do to survive here now – live by your wits and pure brute strength, because you are just a dead man walking. No-one cares for you, no-one watches over you; your best ally is yourself. And an awful lot of luck..._

_At least, I used to think so. Kaiel has changed my opinion on that. In fact, he's changed my opinion on a lot of things. I often used to wonder why he rescued me. Just like so many things though, that wasn't an answer I would ever get from him, but from myself. At least, thank goodness, he made __**this **__nightmare more bearable. Even when my own nightmares came forth from mind to reality to kill me. _

_**That **__wasn't long after I told him the story of what I was doing on the streets in the first place.

* * *

_

_I listened to her story patiently enough; despite the fact it took an hour or so to tell. That was probably my fault, though; I had rather a lot questions to ask that required me to interrupt Samus in the midst of her storytelling. She didn't mind answering my questions, though, for which I was glad. I was interested in why she was out here in the first place. That was when she threw a spanner in the works by declaring she was going back on the streets the following morning, injury or no injury. I was shocked at her recklessness and haste, but I also couldn't help but admire her dedication and patience, especially after learning she hadn't got far in her investigation at all in the five years or so she'd been pursuing answers. If that was me, I knew I'd have given up by now. Samus's reputation for being a determined person, both as a fighter and in terms of personality, couldn't be disputed. In fact, her determination applied to a lot of things, as I would find out in the not too distant future._

_That's how I got involved in this whole mess. By deciding to help out the famed Hunter. Sad thing is, it would take Death to make me realise why I chose to help Samus in the first place.

* * *

_

***: Kaiel's reference to Samus, "She Who Supplants", actually comes from the meaning of her name; the male variant, Seamus, is Celtic for James, which means "He who supplants" or "He who conquers by force". Just in case you didn't know. ^.^  
**


	7. Tabooed Past

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Been busy. But I reward you with a longer chapter. ^.^**

**

* * *

**

**Tabooed Past**

Dawn came. For her, it was nothing different. For him, it was a rekindling of his past. For both, it was a dive head first into the unknown.

Even though it was hard to tell one day from the next, morning came early for Samus and Kaiel. Breakfast was mere scraps that would barely keep up their strength, but the Bounty Hunter did not mind; she had learned to suppress her hunger in recent times, and she also knew that no matter their condition, famished or full, injured or not, they had to move **today**. Or the past five years would have been for nothing.

During her investigations, Samus had gained a lead that there was a fighter who had the power to shed light on absolutely _anything_ you asked them about, for a price. At least, that's what the street-lore stated. But when she asked Kaiel, with his veteran street knowledge, about it, his response was not particularly convincing.

"Never heard of someone like that." He grunted, shrugging his shoulders as the pair walked away from the derelict building they had called home for a week. "Probably some bastard pulling your leg with that one. Anyway, you certain that shoulder of yours is fine?"

She sighed. Typical of Kaiel to change the subject when he didn't know something. Samus's reply was a mocking snort that echoed slightly from the buildings: "Haha. Injury or no injury, I bet I could whip your ass any day, Kaiel. Try me."

His response was merely a smirk, initially. He knew better than to bet with the legendary Samus Aran. "Come on, let's hustle it up, or we'll never get where we need to be." He immediately picked up the pace.

Samus gratefully obliged, matching her companion stride for stride. She allowed herself a small mental smile for finally besting him at something.

Neither of the warriors noticed the shadows watching them.

* * *

_Kaiel never spoke much of his past. Not that I really ever told him mine as we rested between walks. I told him what I wanted to tell him; about my past on the streets – nothing about my __**true **__past. It didn't matter though. I could tell his obvious curiosity was satisfied with whatever I told him. In fact, I probably could have got away with lying to him completely; I did twist a few things here and there, nothing too drastic. With hindsight, however, I probably shouldn't have. But he was just too damn curious. Too damn curious for his own good. Why should he have __**his **__curiosity satisfied when I couldn't satisfy __**mine**__?_

_Then __**it **__came from the pitch black; all of his hellish past descended upon us, rushed past in a blur. My thirsting curiosity was satisfied at once, making me feel sick inside, and it dawned on me just why Kaiel had stayed quiet.

* * *

_

"We're here."

The tall, cloaked Kaiel stopped abruptly outside a narrow, hidden entrance to what appeared to be some sort of tunnel. It had been such an abrupt stop that Samus, practically blind in the darkness, had smacked straight into the back of her companion. She rebounded off of him with a muffled grunt.

"Next time, warn me when you are gonna stop." She hissed at him, rubbing her nose, before manoeuvring around one side of Kaiel to get a better look of the tunnel. "Oh. This is it?"

"Mmmm." His response was a gentle hum in the affirmative. There was a slight pause, before he continued: "This was an old maintenance tunnel. It used to be used a lot before..." He broke off, shaking his head slightly. "...Anyway, it should still work. The cops can't catch us breaking the curfew while we are down here. Plus, it is pretty safe to rest in, too, since few people know about it."

"And it'll get us to the other side of the city?" Samus quizzed, raising a sceptical eyebrow – not that the gesture had much effect in the low light, of course.

"I personally have never travelled its whole length, but I heard these things can take you _anywhere _in the city, if you know where you are going." The glow of Kaiel's mechanical eye intensified with determination. "So, if you are ready, _ladies _first."

The Bounty Hunter flashed a fierce grin, all too happy to oblige. Spinning her _Paralyzer _in one hand, she entered the tunnel confidently, not waiting to hear whether Kaiel was following behind or not. Sneaking around in this tunnel reminded her so much of old times, running about in half flooded caves on distant planets, not knowing what lay ahead. She almost laughed in excitement. Then she reached a wider section of the tunnel that was dimly lit by flickering amber lamps, and knew that now was not the time for anything of the sort.

The sound of Kaiel's metallic feet pounding on the concrete floor behind her soon snapped Samus from her reverie. "Didn't lose me then, huh?" She addressed him with an undercurrent of teasing, like she expected him to lose her in the inky darkness.

"Not even close." He retorted back in a similar tone, before adding smugly, "This eye can see through walls as well as dark, just so you know."

She punched him lightly. "Oi, watch it, Drakos!"

His mocking mood faded, and his expression darkened. Samus didn't even have to look at Kaiel to know she had hit a bad area. His stony silence spoke for him.

"Anyway..." she whistled tactfully, cautiously changing subject, "Where do we go on from here?"

The almost hollow sigh that came from the street veteran tickled the back of Samus's neck, making her hairs stand on end, an effect made worse when he answered in a detached voice that was devoid of any emotion: "It should just be straight down here. Stick to following the amber lights until we find a turning in the tunnel with green lights. If we end up going down a path with any other lights, then we've gone wrong. Let's go."

Kaiel strode on ahead of her, leaving the Hunter wondering just why he hated being called by his surname. Realising she was in danger of being left behind, she chucked aside any concerns and raced after her companion.

* * *

The two street veterans now turned investigators had been walking for what seemed like an eternity, following hope giving amber lanterns down an otherwise despair filled tunnel. The only sounds were the metallic beat that Kaiel's feet made on the ground, the eerie echo the tunnel walls replied with, the constant dripping of what was likely brackish water, _and goodness knows what scuttling at our feet,_ Samus thought with disgust. _These tunnels really __**haven't **__been used in a long time, eh?_

The droning metal beat on the ground suddenly broke its continuous rhythm, and despite not being warned again, Samus managed not to walk into Kaiel this time, instead sidestepping almost gracefully around him to see what he saw. But she was disappointed to find yet more tunnel ahead of them, and was about to protest such when she finally realised...-

"Green lights!" she let out in a single, high pitched breath of awe and excitement, the first thing she had spoken to Kaiel since she addressed him by his surname. "We made it?"

"Yes. This is the place." He forced himself to reply, not entirely understanding the Bounty Hunter's excitement. How could walking through a tunnel be exciting?

"Now what?" Her eyes traced his every move, watching, waiting with the patience an excited child has just before Christmas.

"Should just be down 'ere..." Kaiel walked forward two paces, clanging his fingers against metal as he traced the rungs of a ladder in the gloom. "I'll be back in a moment."

With noted awkwardness, Samus watched as he climbed the ladder and disappeared into the shadows. Her sapphire eyes lingered after him as she waited for her companion to get them both out of there.

"BASTARDS!"

His cursing shook Samus; scared her half to death even. She took a hasty step back as she saw him shinny down the ladder again.

"What the hell was all that about?" she half snapped at him, still shaken up from having been scared like that.

"The hatch is sealed. I need you to open it for me." Kaiel's response couldn't have contrasted more from his outburst half a minute ago.

"Me? Why me? You've got two decent hands, haven't you...?"

A warning glow from her companion's mechanical eye silenced her in her tracks. As per some silent command, she shakily climbed the ladder, the chilling eye having its desired effect. _Another taboo_, Samus thought as she turned the wheel on the hatch, _why does everyone have so many secrets around here? _As she turned the wheel one final time, the Hunter sighed and called for Kaiel to come up.

He followed Samus in complete silence.

* * *

Hauling themselves from the tunnels, Kaiel and Samus soon found themselves back in the pitch black city streets again. Making sure the hatch was sealed again, the pair resumed their journey, the same silence that had been present in the tunnel once more descending over them. Once again, it was Samus who broke it as she stopped walking.

"Look, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

At first, Kaiel just stopped dead, numb. After a pause, he spoke in a near whisper: "Forget it. Just don't like being reminded of my past all the time, that's all..." He turned to face her with a genuine smile etched on his lips, but that smile soon turned to a look of horror as his mouth opened to let out a soundless gasp.

Before Samus could even ask 'What is it?', a past of unatoned sins came crashing down upon them; a blinding shadow had already knocked _her_ face down on the ground and taken _him_ skyward by the throat.

The last thing she remembered hearing before settling her bloodied face on the floor for unconsciousness to take over her body was a choked plea and the flap of shadowy wings.


	8. Truth To a Dark Past

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Had a lot of stuff to attend to, hence why this took a while. Should have chapter 9 up by the end of this week, seeing how it isn't going to be long.**

**

* * *

**

**Truth To a Dark Past**

A sickening thud. The slice of a blade. The flap of shadowy wings. A choking grunt of pain.

These were the sounds that greeted Samus's ears as she finally became conscious again. Her face was not in particularly good shape, she noted as she pulled a bloodied hand away from it. Through hazy vision, she could see the shadow that attacked her facing off against Kaiel, who was backed right into a cracked wall, completely transfixed as the shadow moved to attack him once more. Samus wanted to scream for him to move, but nothing came out of her mouth when she opened it.

Once again, Kaiel was grabbed, turned and slammed into the wall face first, before the dark fighter decided to drag him up it. Having seen enough, the Bounty Hunter forced herself onto her feet, and new-found strength coursed through her from nowhere. It was time to get even.

"Unhand him!" Samus shouted threateningly, her _Paralyzer _in her hand and trained on the foul warrior in a blink of eye.

Glowing eyes stared at her colder than death. They were the eyes of a heartless murderer; a cold blooded killer. Eyes that had the power to instil fear into her companion. Eyes that reminded her of her _own _nemesis. Kaiel and this warrior clearly had history.

'_Or what?' _The voice sliced right through her. It was so powerful, so dark, she couldn't tell if it had been spoken out loud or just in her head. Whatever the case, it made her mind spin in pain. With great effort, Samus quickly regained her focus and snapped off a charged shot of electricity at her foe. Hitting dead on, she managed to stun their attacker, sending both friend and foe sailing out of the air. Unfortunately, Samus had also stunned Kaiel, and both of them crashed helplessly to the ground.

The shadowed warrior was the first to recover, and immediately those glowing eyes were back on her. But the shadow that surrounded her enemy was not as strong as before, and she could almost recognise who she was fighting. In fact, she was ninety percent sure; it just sickened her to think about it.

Just as well then, _he _didn't give her _time _to think.

The warrior charged at Samus, his barbed, bloodstained sword brandished and poised to strike. She managed to dodge the initial strike as he swooped in on her, but was sliced from behind when he flew past. The Bounty Hunter could already feel her latest battle wound bleeding under her suit as she rose from her dodge and whirled around to see where her enemy would strike next. Letting out a growl, Samus zoned her mind right into battle mode. _If only I had my suit...then this motherfucker would be blown apart..._

It wasn't long before her foe dove at her again from the shadows, only this time, Samus was better prepared. As the warrior's sword bore down on her, she extended the whip from her _Paralyzer _to parry the blow. In a split second, his sword was flying at her again, but her Chozo reflexes ensured she blocked the blow again. Frustrated now, her opponent flailed his sword at her like a mad berserker, but still, the Bounty Hunter blocked his blows, before using her whip to grab the wrist the sword was in, halting any more attempts on her life. As the other fighter struggled, Samus smiled triumphantly.

"You mess with one of us; you mess with both of us." She spoke initially in a soft tone, before adding in a harsher voice: "And no-one messes the fuck with me!" The Hunter proceeded to smash her foe in the face with her spare fist, laughing in quiet satisfaction when she heard the familiar sound of armour denting and yielding to her blow. The force of her blow freed the warrior from her whip and sent him flying into a wall, half conscious. Not pausing to examine her work or tend to her now bleeding knuckles, Samus ran towards her fallen opponent with a war cry on her lips and fire in her eyes.

"Samus..." Kaiel tried to rise awkwardly to stop her, but without much success, "Samus, don't do it!" He raised his left arm weakly, but immediately fell onto his front. He was still too weak from the stun blast to be able to do a thing.

If she heard her companion, Samus paid him no heed as she continued to run at her downed opponent as he half rose. Before he knew it, there was a sickening metallic thud as he was jumped kicked by the Bounty Hunter and knocked fully unconscious. When he landed again, there was no movement from him.

Samus herself skidded into a crouch on landing, quickly recovering into an upright stance. Holstering her weapon, she surveyed her surroundings before rushing to Kaiel's side to help him up.

"Mrf. Thanks." He grunted as she helped him to his feet. "That gun of yours packs a punch." He rubbed his neck, tilting his head from side to side in order to get it to click.

"Can't kill though, unlike yours," Samus laughed haughtily, "but it is useful in tight situations when you have no other weapons to hand."

Kaiel scoffed. "Phht. You, no other weapons? Your limbs are bitching lethal! I wouldn't call that having no weapons."

"Hm. Valid point." Samus hummed approvingly, before nodding at the fallen enemy, "What are going to do with him?"

"Leave that bastard. He'll regain consciousness soon enough. We need to get moving." Kaiel answered quickly, walking off. Noticing Samus wasn't following, he added, "Samus! Are you coming or what?"

"Kaiel...the shadow around him...it's gone. All of it." She called back. "Kaiel, it's...!"

Samus was quickly halted mid-sentence when her companion strode up to her and grabbed her roughly on the arm with a warning look.

"We need to get out _now._"

"But...Kaiel...it's Meta Knight! We have to help him! He's one of us!"

Cold, unbearable silence met Samus's words. Both parties blue eyes locked for a moment. He was the first to break away.

"One of _you_." He corrected, slowly and darkly. "Not one of me. He's nothing to me." Kaiel finally let her go and walked off into the pitch black night.

It took a few seconds for the Bounty Hunter to gather herself. "Kaiel, wait!" She shouted at the top of her voice, despite the fact he hadn't got very far, "What do you mean? What..." She swallowed nervously, before lowering her voice to a near whisper _"What happened to you?"_

Another unbearable pause. But his one worded, emotionally detached and cold reply was probably more painful. When he whispered it, barely audible, it sent shivers up Samus's spine.

"_**This."**_

He pointed to his mechanical eye and down to his legs, before turning on the ball of his artificial feet, disappearing into the shadows once more and leaving her alone in the dark with Meta Knight.

The Bounty Hunter stood perfectly still, her mouth open in a silent gasp, stunned. She didn't even bother to chase up her new-found comrade for an explanation.

_**This.**_

How his one word could answer all her suppressed questions about him, she did not know, but it had. Sighing, Samus wearily attended to Meta Knight, but never kept her sapphire eyes from the direction Kaiel had left in. From nowhere, she felt a deep concern for him once again.

_What has been done to you? _Her mind thought sadly. She almost cried for him. _"Oh...Kai..."_


	9. Haunted: Kaiel

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Short, but important chapter. We get some answers about Kaiel!**

**

* * *

**

**Haunted: Kaiel**

_I was running. Oh how I ran. I daren't think how long for, but I know my attacker was still on me; still on me as I desperately skittered through the ever darkening streets. I could still hear wing beats and feel cold eyes watching my back. My hunter was still chasing me, chasing me like helpless prey._

_Finally, I take a turning which turns out to be my undoing as I hit a dead end. No way out and no way back; I was trapped, a goner. I cannot see my pursuer, but I know they were still around, watching, waiting. I take my chances and I turn to run. Run out the way I came. But __**he **__is there, glowing eyes, shadowed wings, bloodied sword and all..._

_Sword. I'll never forget what those barbaric teeth on its blade did to me..._

_As soon as I saw my foe, I completely forgot there was no other way out. I ran again, ran straight into the wall that blocked my path. I tried to climb it out of sheer desperation. But it was too high, too steep; my efforts were futile. I was finished. Rain streaked down my sweating face, lighting flashed in the sky, cleaving it in two. As it did, I happened to turn my head back at the right time (or maybe even the wrong time, as it would later turn out) just as the momentary flash revealed my opponent._

_**Meta Knight.**_

_But not the one I had heard about. I recognised his shadowed silhouette against the lightning cracked sky, yes, but I did not recognise __**him**__. His eyes were not that of a noble warrior but of a stone-hearted murderer. Even Death himself would have run from those glowing orbs that now held me in place, paralysed. It occurred to me that, upon seeing those eyes, had the wall not have blocked my way, I doubt I would have ran even then. Those eyes stole all of my willpower, my strength, my soul. My life essence._

_They still do now. To this very day._

_Turning my head back was a mistake, for the next thing I knew, I was completely blinded in my left eye, so fast I didn't realise what had happened until long after this dreadful night. Something thick was oozing between my fingers, and I could taste the coppery tang of blood in the air. I raised my right arm to block a rush of oncoming air, and as I did so, there was an intense burning sensation and I could no longer feel most of the arm._

_I screamed. Screamed like a woman, like a terrified child. It was the only time I would ever scream._

_I felt my whole body fall to the ground, and I realised that the sensation I was getting from my arm was now in both my legs, too. The pain was unbearable. My vision was fading, becoming blotched with red stars. My breathing was ragged. Yet, the only thing I really remember was that awful laughing; that echoed, rusty, metallic grating sound that made me cringe._

_Meta Knight was laughing at me. And underneath, I could hear blood dripping off his sword. _

_**My blood.**_

_As I began to fade from reality, I heard the sound of his armoured boots walking away, before the flap of his dark wings taking to the sky. My life was ebbing from me. Slowly...slowly...fading away. Even though I could feel my wounds already healing (thanks to my regenerative abilities) I still knew I was going to die. Die a traitor in the eyes of the __**others**__._

_Just as I was about to give out, I felt another presence above me, but I was too weak to raise my head. I felt the soft caress of a hand before fading completely. The softest of touches that would soon become familiar to me._

_I didn't know it then, but that very same hand would save me again._


	10. Fated Paths

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Sorry for taking so long. Got addicted to pokemon and stuff.**

**

* * *

**

**Fated Paths**

_Fate is a mysterious thing. Just like the past, it pushes and steers; dictates, for the most part, your future. Tears people apart, smashes families to pieces. Destroys friendships and creates enemies. I didn't know about Kaiel's past, no, and nor did I want to know. It wouldn't be long until I did, though. And he'd find out about mine._

_That's the way with fate. Brings up your past; past demons you'd rather forget. But...it also gives you a future. Suddenly, mine was there, __**plink plink **__of metallic boots on the cold tarmac covered floor._

_**Kaiel.**_

_His luminous eye staring at me. Ice blue in the night. Ice blue to match the frigid air of the inky dark. A groan. He inches forwards, sits down by me, even. His warm cloak wraps around my shivering form, and I see the ghostly stump of his former glory for the first time; his cruelly amputated right arm crossed against his chest. It fills me with the same sadness from before. I don't care that his infamous __**Executioner **__is digging into my hip. All I feel is this sadness..._

_His eye stares at me once, but he doesn't say anything. Nor do I, and the eye flicks away again. The only sound is our soft breathing, and the groaning being in armour unconscious next to us; the very thing that divided us apart._

_The very thing that brought us together. Again._

_Heh. _

_Fate. Fate is such a strange thing...

* * *

_

Two pairs of sapphire eyes watched as the fallen Meta Knight finally stirred from unconsciousness. He rose, his caped back initially toward the pair as he tilted his face mask back into position, only to whirl around when he heard a half amused snort from behind him.

"Not so noble now, eh?"

That voice; he _knew_ that voice. Meta Knight looked up slowly at the two now stood before him. One was a tall, blonde haired female with piercing blue eyes, clad completely in some kind of skin tight azure coloured jump suit with strange, glowing pink symbols on it. She felt familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place a name to her face. The other, slightly taller cloaked figure, who looked not too dissimilar from Ganondorf in terms of appearance, with equally piercing eyes - one organic, the other mechanical - was the one he _did _recognise. His glowing yellow eyes widened. _How was __**he **__even alive...? _Meta Knight stared at Kaiel for longer than he intended before he was finally able to wrench his gaze free.

"_Drakosbane." _He finally addressed the veteran warrior, his age old name for him thrumming though his helmet.

Meta Knight spied the woman shifting uncomfortably, leaning from one leg onto the other in her standing position. Kaiel, however, remained motionless and emotionless, as if daring Meta Knight to make a false move. The armoured warrior involuntarily clenched his white gloved fists.

"So..." The woman's voice drifted through his ears almost like an unsteady bird song, "What happened to you, Meta Knight? I mean, a moment ago, you were so bent on killing Kaiel here...now you are more docile than a well tempered horse! What's up with that?"

Underneath his mask, Meta Knight's eyes flicked between Kaiel and the one who was interrogating him. He shifted from one metal foot onto the other and back again, before he finally mumbled: "Why don't you ask him?"

"Because the lady's askin' you!" Kaiel roared at the knight impatiently, mechanical eye glowing threateningly. Thankfully, the woman – _Samus...yes, that was her name _– stopped him short with a curt wave of her hand.

Samus gave Kaiel a reproachful look, before continuing, "As Kaiel says, I'm asking you. What happened to you? You were acting possessed."

Something slipped in place when Meta Knight heard Samus utter that. "I _was _possessed."

Through the metal of his helmet, he heard Kaiel sigh, before the Bounty Hunter's, "Go on." He cleared his throat.

"It all began back, way back; back before the Day of Eternal Shadow..."

* * *

_...Back to just after the Brawl. I remember now, as clear as day. That trainer kid, Red, I think, had taken it all in a very close fight with Aran herself. I'm not usually one for sticking around to watch other smashers fight, but that match was beautiful. Even when it went to sudden death, the pair were still at it for hours. When Samus Grapple Beamed the kid's Squirtle, I thought that was it. But then Charizard comes from nowhere and BAM. Game. Then Lucario and I fighting for third place. Another close one._

_Anyway, everyone was celebrating with the kid, congratulating him and his Pokemon. Even though I had come third, I didn't feel like staying to celebrate. I just wanted to fly home and repair the __**Halberd **__so I could get out of this city for good. I didn't fit here, and the city didn't fit me. Leaving, I was certain, would also stop these sickening feelings I'd been getting, gnawing away at me like some disease. I needed out, now._

_Before I could spread my winds to fly, however, I felt something tap at one of my pauldrons. As I turned, a fist impacted me in the face, causing me to lose consciousness. In my blacked out state, I had a prophetic dream in which I saw the city shrouded in darkness, as it is now. I saw red glowing eyes, which soon turned to ice blue. When I came to, my mind was darkened. All I could see were those glowing, blue eyes, eyes that haunted me at every turn. So when I saw the Drakosbane for the first time, imagine it...! _

_I had my eyes set on him then. So I watched, waited. Waited in the shadows for my chance. The little good that was still left in me didn't want to do this, but the darkness was too overpowering, the visions I had too haunting...so I bode my time. Waited for the Day of Eternal Shadow to come and everyone to turn against Drakosbane just as the darkness had promised me. _

_And then the day came, or rather the night. Lightning cleaved the sky just as Galaxia would cleave the Traitor in due course. I chased him, cornered him like he was a mere beast. Our eyes met. His glowing blue eyes...SLASH! No more. Only blood. Blood that had never tasted so sweet. Blood that had never tasted so bitter._

_I don't know what occurred after that night. I thought my nightmares would all be over. But they weren't. They only got worse as the city plunged into darkness. And then my orbs spied him again, and I thought it were impossible. But you were alive, Drakosbane, and the shadows in me were urging me to finish what I started. What I didn't count on, though, was a certain Bounty Hunter being by my enemy's side. My thoughts were only on how you could be alive. _

_Then bam, shot outta the sky. How the mighty fall, eh?_

_Now I'm here, facing two mighty warriors...

* * *

_

"...Facing the both of you, telling my story. Funny how things turn out..." Meta Knight concluded, drawing in breath. "And that, warriors, is that."

Silence greeted the knight's words. But it didn't last long.

"What a load of bullshit!" Kaiel's thunderous voice shattered the quietness. "Possessed my backside! You knew very well what you were doing when you tore me to shreds and left me for dead! You goddamn knew!"

"I-I was possessed!" Meta Knight stuttered quietly. "But...if it helps, I swear to atone for my wrongdoing." He placed a gloved hand on a pauldron.

His former enemy only glared at him, the icy glow of his mechanical eye waning and waxing slowly.

"When you two are _quite _done..." Samus interjected before either of them had a chance to say anything else, "We have a duty to find out what is causing this darkness, and who caused Meta Knight to become possessed."

"_We?_" The street veteran's voice half spluttered, "No way."

"I must agree with Drakosbane. Going after the one who rendered me possessed would be most unwise. You are asking for a death wish, Lady Aran." Meta Knight nodded in agreement.

An almost unbearable pause followed the knight's words once more. It was only broken when Samus turned her back on the other two, and softly, almost inaudibly uttered:

"_Fine. I'll go alone."_

Both men stared at Samus, dumbfounded, like she had just stripped completely before them both or something. It took them so long to gather themselves together, that Samus had already begun to walk away.

"Lady Aran, is that a good idea?" Meta Knight gathered himself first, calling after her.

Samus paused, before half turning around. "Well, it is clear neither of you are going to help me, isn't it?"

"Now hang on just a minute..." Kaiel started, but Samus cut in again before he could finish.

"They are my _friends_, Kaiel! Just because you may not give a damn about them, doesn't mean I feel the same way as you!"

"_Friends? _And I thought the Huntress worked alone." The street veteran almost jeered at her, as if daring Samus to defy his statement. Meta Knight looked uneasily between them, wondering how the Bounty Hunter was going to respond this time.

"I won't lie to you; half of the other smashers are annoying most of the time. But we'd do anything for each other, so I owe it to them to find out where they are!" Samus explained, her voice heightening in pitch towards the end of the first part of her explanation. "Whether you come with me or not is up to you, but I'm going regardless."

With sudden speed, Kaiel lunged at her, throwing his only hand forward, and grabbed Samus by her _injured _shoulder, before turning her to face him harshly. He ignored her yelp of surprise.

"With your shoulder how it is?" He hissed at her, the frightening glow of his eye returning.

"Let go of me!" Samus tried to pull away from him.

"Drakosbane, unhand her! You are hurting her!" Meta Knight readied his sword.

Kaiel forced himself to loosen his grip and the Bounty Hunter broke free. She massaged her shoulder with her other hand. "I managed to save your life earlier, didn't I?" Samus returned his cold eyed gaze with one of her own.

"I was completely fine."

"You call half throttled to death and having your face shoved into a wall _fine? _Well, next time, I shalln't bother!" She stormed off.

"Ugh, why do you have to be so stubborn!"

A pause in motion. "I'm not the one being stubborn here!"

"Fine, walk away, see how I care!"

With that, both of them walked away, in the opposite direction, leaving Meta Knight alone.

"For the love of honour..." He shook his head, and, against his better judgement, followed after Kaiel.


	11. The Paths of Two

**There Will Be Shadow**

**Man to heck, I've been so busy! Sorry for taking forever with this, but I've been so busy with school, it's unreal. Like, one week, I had a practical exam every day! Plus, I've had coursework to do and crud like that. So, here is Chapter 11 of _There Will Be Shadow_. Enjoy, and review! **

**(Random note: I left the opening monologue ambiguous on _purpose_, as usually I make it obvious who speaks even though it is first person. I'll let you, my readers, decide who it best fits; Samus, Kaiel or maybe even both.)**

* * *

**The Paths of Two**

_Why do some people have to be so...__**stubborn**__ for? You save their life, and they throw it back in your face and walk away. It makes you wish you never helped them in the first place. Then you wish you'd never set eyes on them. You tell yourself you are far better off without them; that things are better this way and, consequently, how they were before. You've made it on your own this far; why do you need someone now? Things are no different than they were before, are they? You've never cared in the past, so why care now?_

_I realise now how inaccurate that thought was and still is. I have cared, I've always cared, or I wouldn't be doing this now, would I? Seeking answers, redemption, truth...all these things. But above all, justice. Justice for myself, for this city, for others..._

_Ah, guilt. Good old guilt setting in. I look back the way I came, and I imagine maybe both of us are doing the same thing. Then again, I doubt that. There's no time for that. I have to keep moving, keep moving with my gun drawn to my chest. Keep on fighting, surviving, seeking truths in the cloud of corruption and lies._

_A noise. I whirl, my weapon trained on the threat, finger hovering over the trigger, poised to pull it at a moment's notice. I suddenly realise how vulnerable I am out here on my own._

_In short, I should not have come alone._

_**Glowing eyes, colder than death...**_

_Shit._

* * *

Kaiel watched as the owner of the glowing eyes moved from the shadows, but he didn't lower his weapon. Although his expression was completely devoid of emotion, in the back of his mind, the street veteran was still angry from his earlier argument with Samus.

"What the hell do you want?" he half spat; half growled at the newcomer.

"To atone for my wrongdoings, Drakosbane." The steady voice that replied was unmistakeably Meta Knight's.

"Tell me another lie, why don't you!" Kaiel roared, his beard flicking around like a flame. "How do I know you won't just attack me while my back is turned?"

Surprisingly, a laugh emerged from underneath Meta Knight's mask. "Street lore states that the Drakosbane can see into the souls of other warriors. If you believe my soul to still be tainted, then gaze upon it and search for whatever proof thou does desire." The knight's words contained a challenge.

Kaiel lowered the _Executioner _slightly and concentrated on Meta Knight. His mechanical eye glowed intensely as he channelled the whole of his power and vision through it. The dark world fizzled out to nothing; the only thing he could see were the weak, silvery auras the buildings and the ground gave off, and the intense blue white aura Meta Knight's soul was emanating. He scanned every part of it, leaving no stone unturned, as it were. To his surprise, and to be entirely truthful probably to his annoyance as well, Kaiel could find no trace of the darkness he saw when fighting Meta Knight before. Not even the minutest sign of any darkness tainting the smasher's soul. He forced himself to put away his weapon, but left it looser than usual in its holster just in case he needed to make a quick draw for whatever reason. He turned his back to the knight.

"Tell me, Meta Knight," he began quietly, his voice barely a whisper, but still with an undercurrent of anger, "why _did _you follow me?"

"The Lady Aran..."

"She is more than capable of holding her own. If you are _that _worried, go and follow her yourself. But if you think I'm going to chase her down and beg for forgiveness, then you can think again!"

Meta Knight shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and back again, thinking carefully about how to reply. "You've changed, Drakosbane."

Kaiel looked over one shoulder at Meta Knight, smiling ever so slightly. "Heh. Haven't we all?"

"What do you plan to do now?"

"Probably what I've always done. Maybe find an old friend of mine, assuming he's still alive. What does it matter to you?"

"Because if I'm sticking around with _you _Drakosbane, I need to know where we are going, don't I?" Meta Knight reasoned.

Kaiel whirled around to face the knight fully. "Who says I _want _you around?"

"Two pairs of eyes are better than one, wouldn't you agree?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"To find your friend. And if said pair of other eyes can take to the sky, then all the better!"

Kaiel's smile broadened. "Now you are talking, Meta. You know of Lucifer?"

"Lucifer?" Meta Knight gave Kaiel a questioning gaze.

"You might better know him as Lucario. We have known each other a long time."

"Ah. Of course I know him. He has a place on the other side of the city, near the river I think. We used to train there before matches in the Brawl tournament. I could take you there." Meta Knight's cape turned into a pair of bat-like wings.

"Lead on." Kaiel nodded, before watching Meta Knight wheel effortlessly into the pitch black, moonless sky. With the knight's piercing yellow eyes as a guide, the street veteran followed at a nail biting pace, and soon, both warriors had disappeared into the dark.

* * *

"Ugh, that stubborn son of a bitch!"

Samus had been ranting out loud to herself ever since she deemed herself far enough from Kaiel. There were a few comments directed to herself, about how she had been stupid enough to go with Kaiel in the first place, but most her outbursts were directed at the aforementioned street veteran himself.

"Why do some people just have to be so stubborn?" She shouted to the darkness. "Just why?"

'_Pfft, you were just as stubborn as him, you know.'_

"Don't you start, mind..." Samus scolded her thoughts. "Great, now I'm talking to myself..."

'_Remember that he saved your life...' _Her mind continued at her.

"That was just out of common kindness." The Bounty Hunter reasoned. "There was nothing meant by it."

'_Then why did you return the favour then? Why did __**you **__save __**his **__life?'_

Samus stopped striding. She had no idea where she was, but didn't care particularly. Why _had _she saved Kaiel's life? She knew a simple 'because I owed him one' didn't cut it. Why did he save her life..._wait, what?_ Samus frowned at her confused thoughts, trying to make sense of them.

'_See, that confused you, didn't it?' _Her mind was jeering triumphantly at her now.

"Oh, shut up." She snapped at no-one in particular, staring out at the darkness ahead of her.

To her surprise, the city's river flowed silently before and below her, like black ink on paper. Leaning on a railing that stopped people falling into the river, Samus let her thoughts drift aimlessly.

_But still...why did we save each other...?_ Samus looked back the way she came with an ever saddening gaze. _My answer to that is one I must discover. As for his answer...I may never know now..._

A subtle change in the water's movement disturbed Samus from her thoughts and she whirled around, eyes trained on the river. She scanned for a moment, but found nothing. _Did I just imagine that...? _As she was about to turn again, she heard a more audible ripple, and once more, her vision roamed the river's surface. Her sapphire eyes narrowed in concentration as she raised her _Paralyzer_, whose crackling muzzle followed where her gaze went.

Then she saw it. Two glowing orbs in the ink. Samus froze as both parties' eyes locked.

A piercing scream. An explosion of water. A triumphant roar loud enough for all to hear.

When the water fell again, there were no traces of their encounter except the waning ripples on the river's surface. Samus and that whose glowing eyes she had seen were gone.

Gone like they had never existed in the first place.


End file.
